Chapter 2 - The Father Julian Underestimated
Richard Vance arrived at the hospital before midnight.
He was sixty-four years old, silver-haired, composed, and known throughout New York finance as a man who could bankrupt a company without raising his voice.
But when he walked into Claire’s hospital room and saw his daughter pale beneath white sheets, his face changed.
Not dramatically.
Not visibly enough for strangers to notice.
But Claire noticed.
“Dad,” she whispered.
Richard came to her bedside and took her hand.
“I’m here.”
The simple words made her cry again.
Claire had not spoken to her father much during the past year.
Julian had never openly forbidden it. He was too careful for that.
Instead, he had made every visit feel complicated.
Your father is controlling.
He thinks I am not good enough for you.
He wants to run our lives.
Claire had believed Julian because she wanted peace.
Now, watching her father’s eyes move toward the monitors beside her bed, she felt ashamed of how easily Julian had turned her away from the people who loved her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Richard looked at her. “For what?”
“I should have listened to you.”
“You were in love,” he replied. “That is not something you apologize for.”
A doctor entered shortly afterward.
Claire’s bleeding had slowed, but the placenta previa had caused serious concern. The baby’s heart rate was stable for now, but Claire would remain under observation. If bleeding returned or contractions intensified, the doctors would need to deliver the baby early.
Richard listened without interrupting.
Then he asked every question Julian should have asked.
What are the risks?
What medications is she receiving?
How often will the baby be monitored?
What can we do to keep Claire calm?
After the doctor left, Abigail quietly showed Richard the photographs.
Julian and Lily at the airport.
Julian and Lily kissing.
The Paris tickets.
Richard looked at the images for less than a minute.
Then he handed the phone back to Abigail.
“Do not show those to Claire again tonight,” he said.
Claire looked at him.
“What are you going to do?”
Richard’s expression remained calm.
“First, I am going to make sure you and my granddaughter are safe.”
“And then?”
He looked toward the dark hospital window.
“Then I am going to find out exactly what Julian has been doing with the company.”
Claire frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Richard sat beside her.
“Julian came to me six months ago asking for access to Sterling-Vance credit facilities.”
Claire’s heart tightened.
“You never told me.”
“He asked me not to. He claimed he did not want to worry you during the pregnancy.”
That sounded like Julian.
“He said his company had a temporary liquidity issue,” Richard continued. “I refused to provide unrestricted funding. He became angry.”
Claire thought of the late-night calls. The locked office. The way Julian’s business manager had begun appearing at the house every weekend.
“Is Sterling-Vance Capital in trouble?” she asked.
“No,” Richard replied. “But Julian’s private projects may be.”
Richard leaned closer.
“And if he used your name, your family trust, or your marital assets to hide those problems, he has made a much bigger mistake than leaving for Paris.”
The next morning, Claire woke to a message from Julian.
I landed. I need to know if you’re okay.
She stared at the words.
Not I’m coming back.
Not I’m sorry.
Not How is our baby?
Only a request for information, as if her emergency were a report he expected to receive.
Claire did not answer.
Instead, she gave the phone to her father.
Richard read the message, then looked at his daughter.
“Would you like me to reply?”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
She pressed her hand over her stomach.
The baby moved once, small and stubborn.
For the first time since Julian left, Claire felt something stronger than grief.
May you like
She felt anger.
And somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean, Julian Sterling was flying beside Lily Brooks, unaware that the life he had always assumed Claire would protect for him had already begun to collapse.
